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Wal-Mart could find needed pal on Hernando County Commission

By Dan DeWitt, Times Columnist
In print: Tuesday, August 5, 2008

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When the County Commission denied Wal-Mart's plans to build a supercenter off Barclay Avenue in May 2007, it was the fall of a Goliath.

Considering the open-armed, even gleeful, welcoming of previous Wal-Marts to Hernando County, such a stunning turnabout was hard to figure. You couldn't help but wonder how the politics in the county had changed so quickly and drastically.

Wal-Mart fatigue no doubt played a part.

By last year, the retailer operated three supercenters in the county and a Sam's Club wholesale outlet. More seemed likely as the company pursued a relentless (since abandoned) expansion policy called saturation marketing.

Also, the site on Barclay, though zoned for retail use, was less than ideal — too close to schools and subdivisions such as Pristine Place, the residents of which crammed the commission chambers on the day of the vote.

What else? Well, as I watched that meeting, it struck me that the company had no power base in Hernando County.

Its lawyers were from Tampa. Not a single member of the local business community spoke in favor of the store. The commissioner who may be most closely allied with that community, David Russell, took the unusual step of saying he planned to vote against the store even before the meeting.

So, will that change if Billy Healis, one of three Republicans running for the District 5 seat, is elected to the County Commission?

Besides being a training manager at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Ridge Manor, he has the backing of business heavyweights including Diane Waldron, owner of Killingsworth (insurance) Agency, and Brooksville real estate agent Robert Buckner.

I can see why they like Healis, a 1992 Hernando High graduate whose wife, Danielle, is a longtime Killingsworth employee.

The couple have two children, and Healis is involved in several community organizations. He comes off as devoted to his family, a friendly and earnest go-getter.

Never, he said, would he put the interests of Wal-Mart ahead of the county. "If I have to leave Wal-Mart, I'll leave Wal-Mart.''

I checked with the retailer's full-time opponents, the Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now, to find out if the company has a history of planting employees on city councils or county commissions.

It does not.

So, I don't think his candidacy is part of a grand plan to advance the retailer's interests. But I do think this could be one of the consequences.

Though state law would probably forbid Healis from votes directly benefiting Wal-Mart, such as a rezoning for a new store, he would almost certainly be allowed to decide on broader policies affecting the retailer, such as the recently passed "big box'' ordinance, County Attorney Garth Coller said.

Also, I'm not sure Healis realizes the power of a county commissioner with ties to the county's biggest private employer and how many residents will be eager to win his favor.

Me? I think about what might happen next time Wal-Mart asks the commission for approval to build a new store.

I wonder how many Healis supporters will show up, how many minds they will be able to change and whether they will be able to resurrect a political giant.